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Talk:Weapon spirit
Intended to be construct? While the list of immunities fit either the construct or undead skin blueprints, is it fair to say that the creature wielding the weapons is a construct? The name "spirit" and the ability to move through creatures seem to indicate an undead being. And if all this creature is is an emulation of magic filling the room, then even aberration makes sense. WhiZard (talk) 05:28, February 12, 2015 (UTC) *Yeah, I understand what you are saying, WhiZard. :The problem is, though, once a designer chooses a race and thereby establishing some very basic characteristics by doing so, they are somewhat obliged to be consistent with building a blueprint to match and be at least somewhat logical in the process. This particular blueprint does not accomplish that much, not as far as D&D 3.0 is concerned, anyway. :First off, they forgot the Darkvision feat, a prerequisite for any creature which claims to be related to the aberration race. Second, the ability spread is high-strength, which is consistent with the construct race. Third, typical aberrations possess some unusual and dominant special abilities (eg. intellect devourers, illithids, etc.). Fourth, this particular creature is designed for melee (with the 20 fighter levels), again, very consistent with construct main attacks. Fifth, every creature created for this dungeon is a construct of some sort, including Aghaaz, except for a few rats scurrying around for theme fluff and the Maker itself, a demilich. So, even if one ignores the obvious skin-to-race burp, the inconsistencies are numerous. The name itself is just a label. They could call it "Harry" for how much impact the name has on the actual in-game performance. "Spirit" to me in this instance, means "essence"... implying nothing undead or related to negative energy. That's my take, anyway. To be an aberration, it needs to fulfill more than an aesthetic and subjective "feeling". :The inappropriate race assignment directly impacts the potential for domain turning, which IMO, should be implemented. So, further, I believe BW dropped the ball on how this creature was implemented. Either change the race or change the skin to match what the race demands, though what an aberration is doing in a world of constructs is beyond me, theme-wise. How the article explains it, I have no preference, but the conflict should be revealed... somehow. Perhaps a note would be better than a strike-out. --Iconclast (talk) 20:05, February 16, 2015 (UTC) :* May I suggest that BioWare did not even choose a creature, but implemented the weapon spirit as one out of necessity of the engine. Of course all creatures will need a race, so a race needed to be selected, even though what was being emulated was the weapon being wielded by the magic in the room. That said the effects that would work on living creatures (non-undead non-construct) would not affect magic wielding the weapon as there is no body- hence the immunities used. The race aberration would mean, nothing else fit- no body and not undead. WhiZard (talk) 00:42, February 17, 2015 (UTC) * I don't know about "intended" to be a construct, but "should" have been a construct seems plausible to me. That's just based on a trio of (to my mind) comparable creatures: Shelgarn's persistent blade, Mordenkainen's sword, and the fabled black blade of disaster. --The Krit (talk) 03:17, February 17, 2015 (UTC) Speed increase If the speed increase is just for the initial display and has no bearing on interacting (fighting) the creature, is it even worth mentioning? --The Krit (talk) 17:52, March 8, 2015 (UTC) * I was reconsidering the note when I found it was limited to 3 seconds. It is enough time to allow the weapon spirit to reach the PC faster (after the weapon is acquired), but I doubt it saves even a flurry worth of time due to the short distance. WhiZard (talk) 20:26, March 8, 2015 (UTC) :* I had noticed that the note's importance was greater a few edits ago. :) --The Krit (talk) 00:45, March 10, 2015 (UTC) DISPELLABLE? I have used item-based Dispel Magic (from the Ring of Magic Defenses) on the Weapon Spirit on HOTU and have received full XP (usually 1700+ for a level 20 character playing solo). The trick seems to be in the timing. If I use it in the first flurry, there's no XP, but if I use it after a period of time (perhaps after taking damage), I will get XP. I'm going to test it further. 07:00, January 31, 2016 (UTC)Theophilus Fist :The creature kills itself without inflicting damage on itself, so the determination for XP is in the last attacker/damager. There are a few other points in the HotU where attacking a plot creature can yield XP when the plot calls for them to disappear. So, yes, you can take advantage of the hard-coded determination for determining who is granted XP. WhiZard (talk) 00:04, February 1, 2016 (UTC) :So I just redid the encounter on the Isle of the Maker 3 times with a 21st level character. The first time, I dispelled the Weapon Spirit with the Ring of Magic Defenses as soon as I entered the room and received zero XP. The second time I downed a dozen or so Heal potions and the Weapon Spirit died on its own. I received 1,000 XP. The third time I took damage for two or three rounds, then used the Ring of Magic Defenses to dispel and I received 1,750 XP. This has been consistent for me since the 1.69 patch came out (8 years?). Theophilus Fist (talk) 23:50, February 16, 2016 (UTC) ::I can reproduce case 1. For cases two and three I am getting that when I attack the weapon spirit I get the natural XP (in the case of disarming or waiting it is in addition to the 1000), but when I do not attack or damage at all I am not getting the natural XP. Could you describe your case 3 in a little more detail? I cannot replicate your finding here from merely being attacked. WhiZard (talk) 03:45, February 17, 2016 (UTC) ::I fought the Weapon Spirit, he took minimal damage, I took about 200 points of damage, downed a heal potion, got the Weapon Spirit to "barely injured," then used Dispel Magic from the Ring of Magic Defenses. Theophilus Fist (talk) 04:35, February 17, 2016 (UTC) ::This means you attacked and dealt damage to the weapon spirit, and were granted natural XP because it killed itself without dealing damage to itself (keeping your character as the last damager). It is the same attack exploit that you can use on plot creatures to gain XP when they are removed from the game. If you had not attacked or damaged the weapon spirit at all, you would not have received natural XP when you dispelled it. The oddity you encountered is not limited to this specific creature. WhiZard (talk) 05:21, February 17, 2016 (UTC)